How much for "baby"sitting

[schildi]

Hi all!
We live in WA state. Looks like the wife has a temp / short term job coming up. So we may need somebody to watch our 5 year old for 2 days / week, 7.5 hours a day, for three weeks. So total is 6 days @ 7.5 hours each, for a total of 45 hours.
We have a friend in mind who would also like to do it, but we have not talked about the pay yet.
What would you do? What's reasonable for both sides? How are the taxes handled (I think theoretically we can deduct some of the expense, if we have a receipt)?

Thanks for any input!

[schildi]

Not sure if it matters, probably not, but our 5 year old is what you'd consider "low maintenance". He'll play hours by himself, and listens very well to adults.

[midjd]

As far as pay, I'd ask the friend to throw out a number first - that way you don't insult her with what she thinks is a "low" offer, or offer $5/hr more than she was planning to request. But $9 or $10 an hour seems fair if you're talking about watching a well-behaved kid who can wipe himself

[schildi]

Thanks, midwestern!
Didn't even think about that, but yes, he wipes himself.

[thyme4change]

I'd pay between $40/day and $75/day.

[schildi]

$60 actually was my first thought for a 7.5 hour day.
Ask for a receipt? How do you approach that part?

[thyme4change]

$60 is great. I wouldn't ask for a receipt unless your friend does this as a business. You don't want to force her to declare the income just so you can save $30 on taxes. If you start going down that road, she might want to charge you $30 more.

But, that is just me. You are only spending $350 here - not $350/month.

[schildi]

Yes, I agree, thyme.
When I asked about the receipt, I was more thinking in terms of staying within the law than saving a few bucks.

[Deleted]

Mar 31, 2011 17:41:17 GMT -5 schildi said:

Yes, I agree, thyme.
When I asked about the receipt, I was more thinking in terms of staying within the law than saving a few bucks.

I would not worry much about that, the person will not be a full time nanny/child care provider.

At this point, she is no different than the 16 year old down the street you might ask to watch your child a couple hours a day on weekends, etc.

And 60/day sounds like a good point price point, the daycare by my house varies between 50-60/day

[Deleted]

I wouldn't worry about 'the law' for a short term assignment like that... Think of it as a gift you are giving a friend for doing a favor...

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

So total is 6 days @ 7.5 hours each, for a total of 45 hours

Questions.... is the 7.5 hours the time your wife will be at work? Or is the time she will leave the house, be away and return?

How much will she be earning?

[alabamagal]

There are general guidelines on "casual labor" and independent contractors. I think the general rule is like $1000 per year. This allows you to pay a baby sitter without collecting taxes. Since it is temporary, I would not worry about it. But I would not ask for a receipt of claim it on your taxes, it's not worth it. If you are setting up something more permanent, then you should look to do it right.

Depending on the situation, I think $50 a day would work. Since you are paying "cash" wages, it is highly unlikely that the person would report as income, so they are probably doing better than a minimum wage job.

[steph08]

When I babysat, I got paid minimum wage for watching 2 kids (at first 5 months and 4 years old until 3 years and 6 years old). That was like $5/6 an hour back in 2004-2007.

[schildi]

Apr 1, 2011 8:29:49 GMT -5 Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ said:

So total is 6 days @ 7.5 hours each, for a total of 45 hours

Questions.... is the 7.5 hours the time your wife will be at work? Or is the time she will leave the house, be away and return?

How much will she be earning?

SF, the 7.5 hours is the time the boy would be at the friends house, from drop off to pick up. The wife actually works full time (6 hours per day, but getting paid 8 hours for preparation time), every day of the week. Our son is in preschool three days of the week, and I would drop him off and pick him up every day.
DW will make > $30 per hour, but does that really matter?

Thanks everybody for the replies. I am glad I posted this. I will suggest $60 per day, and I will not worry reporting it on my taxes or anything, I leave it up to our friend what she will do on her side.

[Deleted]

Sounds like a good plan schildi!
Good luck.

[schildi]

Thanks cawiau!
I just talked to our friend, and the $60 per day is what we agreed on. Sounds like everybody is happy that way.
Again, thanks to everybody who replied!